Romney sees plenty of time for a turnaround; Obama has edge on ad buying; and other top Thursday stories

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September 27, 2012 4:41PM (UTC)

Plenty of time: Despite the GOP’s poll trutherism, Romney told ABC News yesterday that he’s not worried about the polls because it’s still “early.” It might seem strange when there’s just over a month to go, but Romney is optimistic. “Well I’m very pleased with some polls, less so with other polls, but frankly at this early stage, polls go up, polls go down,” he said. Romney said he’ll have a chance to turn things around in next month’s debates, which are indeed do-or-die for Romney.

Romney felony?: MoveOn.org filed a complaint today with the Department of Justice alleging that there is “substantial evidence that Mitt Romney may have committed a felony” by stating on government disclosure forms that he left Bain Capital earlier than some evidence suggests. The question of when Romney actually left Bain became a major campaign issue earlier this summer, but now the liberal advocacy group has produced a seven-page legal analysis challenging Romney’s statement on government forms that he “has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way” since 1999. Romney took a leave of absence that year to run the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, but numerous SEC documents show Romney listed as an owner and executive at the company for several years after that.

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Obama edge on ad buys: Despite Romney’s much-vaunted fundraising lead all summer, another problem has emerged with the way Romney’s fundraising is structured. Federal communications law allows political campaigns to purchase advertising at lower rates than companies or outside groups like political parties. The Obama campaign controls more money in its own coffers than Romney, who raised a lot of money for the Republican National Committee and not his own campaign. This means that Obama can purchase more ads for the same amount of money as Romney, as the Washington Post’s Dan Eggen explains.

Dem super PACs stepping up: Democrats are finally getting their super PAC act together after months of dawdling behind the Republican outside groups. “With the election just weeks away -- and millions of dollars in advertising time booked but not yet paid for -- Democratic super PACs are finally drawing the kind of wealthy donors who have already made Republican outside groups a pivotal force in the 2012 campaign. More than 40 individuals and couples had given at least $250,000 to the leading Democratic super PACs through the beginning of September, according to a New York Times analysis of campaign finance records, and dozens more have given $100,000 or more.”